It's A Beautiful Night
by FequalsMA
Summary: At the end of 7th year, James and Lily talk about their relationship. Lily's POV.


The night before my N.E.W.T. in charms, I'm sitting in Potter's bed with a bunch of textbooks strewn about around me, as Potter paces around the room, tapping his wand against his forehead quite vigorously. I'm trying to decide whether he's attempting some sort of advanced (and highly dangerous, knowing him) memory enhancement spell on himself in preparation for tomorrow's exam, or if this is just business as usual, when he gives up whatever it is he's doing and flops down beside me. The parchment I've been writing on flies off the bed, but neither of us bothers to pick it up. "Bugger this for a lark!" he grumbles. "I just can't seem to get into it this year." Potter gestures moodily to all my textbooks.

I make a vague noise in the back of my throat rather than remind him that this is hardly something new; after all, I've never known Potter to study with any measure of urgency for any of the end of year exams, so he needn't act like this is some bizarre turn of events.

But it occurs to me, after a couple of minutes, that I don't feel like studying either (for once in my life) so I lean over and begin to kiss my boyfriend like my life depends on it. Funnily enough, he finds he can't complain about my sudden change of heart. "Mmm, Evans, you never fail to surprise me." He chuckles against my lips. I grin and pull away.

"Do you reckon we should start calling each other by our first names any time soon?" I ask out of the blue.

Potter considers. "I suppose I can see where you're going with this…"

"Eh, do you?" Truth be told, I'm just spitballing here with all this first-name-basis nonsense.

"Well, I can't very well call you Evans forever," he says seriously. "For instance, if we ever got married-" he grins at me cheekily- "you'd be Potter, wouldn't you? And then I could never call you that, since no one would know if I was talking to you or going nutters, carrying on all by myself, eh?"

I roll my eyes. "Or either one of your parents. I think this is why they invented first names in the first place, _Potter_." I use his surname just to see if I can get a rise out of him.

Now its his turn to roll his eyes. "That's right, surname me now, while you still can." He resumes our abandoned make-out session with renewed vigor. I abruptly lose focus for a few minutes before I recall my train of thought.

"Just what are you implying, James?"

He looks up at me innocently through his eyelashes. "Stick around, and maybe you'll find out."

His lips are on my neck, but I can't let myself get distracted again, so I pull away and place his arms at his sides, where they belong while we're trying to have any measure of a rational discussion.

"Dude!" He complains loudly. "Kind of killing the mood here."

"I'm going to have to veto that pet name," I inform him. "I've got no problem with Evans, but _dude_ is where I draw the line."

"It's just an expression," he tell me in a very patronizing sort of way. "Besides, you're being all buzz-kill-y. You caught me off guard, because normally you're such a barrel of laughs."

I narrow my eyes at the jibe- I take pride in how much more fun I am now than I was a year and a half ago- and take this moment to present my main point to him: "WHY ARE YOU MAKING IT SOUND LIKE YOU'RE PROPOSING TO ME?" I practically shout, unable to keep this in any longer.

"Oi!" Potter looks extremely taken aback at my outburst. "How bad would that be, really?"

I consider. For one, we're both still only seventeen. I couldn't have landed myself a more troublesome boyfriend if I'd tried (except maybe for Sirius, but I shudder at the mere thought). We could actually die at any minute at the hand of Voldemort or any one of his followers. James could be a secret Death Eater, for all I know. _I_ could be a secret Death Eater for all _he_ knows! He- well, he looks extremely put out at how long its taking me to answer, so I throw caution to the winds.

"I think it would be brilliant, James! Should we go for it?"

An earsplitting grin lights up his whole face. "Alright, then. Let's give it a whirl," he decides. I kiss him, but he's grinning too much to kiss me back. I frown.

"James Potter, wipe that smirk off your face before I take back my proposal."

He only laughs. "_You're_ proposal!" He raises his eyebrows. "Did you get me a ring, then?"

I grope around for my wand, and transfigure one of his dirty socks into a pretty spectacular, if fake, diamond ring. I slide off his bed and get down on one knee.

James groans. "Cheers for that image, Lily. I'm prat enough without having to walk around with a diamond the size of a snitch round my finger, thank you very much."

I let out a very un-Lily-like giggle at that mental image. "I was only joking of course. Rings are stupid, anyway."

"You're only saying that because you assume I forgot to get you one," James deduces shrewdly.

"And?" I challenge.

"You'd be quite correct in that assumption," he informs me pompously.

"It's ok," I assure him. "I meant what I said."

He's silent for a moment, apparently deep in thought. "Hey!" he exclaims suddenly, as though he's just reinvented the light bulb (or at least invented one that would work in a magical environment), but instead, this is the gem he's come up with: "We should exchange friendship bracelets!"

"Where the hell do you come up with this stuff?" I gripe.

Potter looks ever so slightly crestfallen, but is trying not to let it show. "Actually, that's sort of Moony's thing."

_Figures. _"Oh."

He shrugs off this most recent episode. "We could just keep making out," he suggests brightly.

_Fine by me. _Except this time, _I'm_ grinning too stupidly to participate much. James doesn't seem to mind in the slightest.


End file.
